german5000
My words Take the test
German verb · CEFR A1

zahlen

Meaning in English: pay

Rank 514 of 5,000verbLevel A13 forms in the list
Learn this word

Add zahlen and its 2 forms to your reviews. Progress stays in this browser.

Test my vocabulary

Example

Kann ich hier mit Karte zahlen?

Can I pay by card here?

Forms of zahlen in the top 5,000

German verbs change their ending with the person and tense, and each form is counted on its own. These forms of zahlen are also in the top 5,000:

zahlt#2,963
paysA1

Heute zahlt mein Vater das Essen.
Today my father is paying for the meal.

gezahlt#3,650
paidA2

Hast du die Rechnung schon gezahlt?
Have you paid the bill yet?

How common is zahlen?

zahlen is number 514 of the 5,000 most common German words. In the texts the list is counted from it appears 175 times per million words — about once every 5,700 words.

Know every word down to this one and you recognise about 58% of the words in an ordinary German text. A1 means a beginner word, usually met in the first weeks of learning.

Next to it in the frequency list

  1. 510danachafterwards, after that
  2. 511daranabout it, on it
  3. 512kommendencoming, next
  4. 513gegebengiven
  5. 514zahlenpay
  6. 515EuropaEurope
  7. 516Patientenpatients; patient (acc./dat.)
  8. 517dessenwhose (masculine/neuter)
  9. 518handeltacts, trades; (sich um) is

In these word lists

Translations, levels and examples were written with AI help and are awaiting review by a native speaker — how the list was made.